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A methodological approach to analyze the territorial appropriation of high-speed rail from interactions
between actions and representations of local actors

whereas the SCOT of Great Rovaltain has made the new HSR station a real local symbol (Lussault,
2007) and a strong element of territorial identity at the service of its economic development.
The exploration of the imaginary dimension of HSR stations from the representations conveyed
by the speeches of the actors involved in their territorialisation is a useful complement to
the reconstitution of appropriative trajectories. A comparative analysis of the representations
and values of HSR stations will help to clarify how this imaginary dimension contributes to the
appropriation of high-speed rail. A dual comparison will be implemented. First of all, for each
project, the comparison of the representations of different categories of actors will allow to
understand how their mutual influence boosts the territorial appropriation of high-speed rail.
Through their interactions, the various individual representations thus identified contribute
to build a collective image of high-speed rail which is much more than the aggregation of
the multitude of individual representations according to the principles of systemic thinking.
Secondly, putting the different analyzed cases into perspective will allow to interpret the spatial
fluctuations of these representations in relation with the different choices of the location of
stations and the measures implemented to enhance their integration.
5. Conclusion

By focussing the analysis on the many relations between the practices and representations of
local actors involved in the territorialization process, the challenge is to grasp appropriation
in its multiple components in order to understand the interactions between the location, the
integration and the appropriation of HSR stations according to the various contexts of HSR
projects implementations. Analyzing the logics of HSR appropriation suggests new research
perspectives in order to examine the diverse forms of territorialization of high-speed rail.
By mobilizing various data and observation angles (see fig. 3), the methodological approach
considered in this paper makes it possible to understand how spatial representations and
practices feed each other and to specify the mutual influence of the appropriative logics
of territorial actors during the successive stages of the territorialization process. The initial
exploratory analyses thus reveal the emergence of different forms of appropriation which
emphasize that the territorialization of high-speed rail and HSR stations is ultimately the result
of the overlapping of multiple territorialities which could be identified by the joint study of
spatial practices and representations. By considering representations induced by high speed
rail, my study allows to shed light on the actors’ interactions involved in the territorialization of
the new transport supply, integrating the symbolic and imaginary dimensions that guide spatial
strategies and practices throughout the temporality of the HSR project.

6. References
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• BERELSON, B. (1952). Content analysis in communication research. Hafner Publ. Co.,New York.
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International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 359